Mostly music news + reviews, but we also cover film, tv, and anything else that catches our fancy
Here’s photo post #2 of the day for you. It’s Shayfer James’ EP release on Stage 2 of Rockwood Music Hall, September 19th. He had a great turnout where everyone sang along to songs that had literally just been released. It was pretty amazing to witness. He’ll be playing Rockwood again Oct 13th if you want to witness the magic for yourself.
The Pandemics backed Pete Porker on a bunch of tunes back in January and in the final stages of me playing catch up, I finally uploaded all the videos to YouTube. Here they all are for easy consumption:
And here are photos from the show:
Your next chance to see The Pandemics will be playing with The Fad and a bunch of other cool bands at Hollis Woods Community Church this Saturday, March 28th. Details of that can be found on Facebook (of course).
It’s that time of year again, when all us music nerds run around NYC trying to catch as much good and/or new music as possible. This year I’m working a night job every night of the week, so most of the shows I will be attending are during the day. I did manage to catch one good act last night though, in addition to being introduced to two new bands during the day.
First up I went to Pianos to catch this band from Berlin called Mighty Oaks, who absolutely blew me away. After their set I asked about buying their CD and they said I could do so online.
Next up I moved over to Cake Shop to catch a noise pop band from Dublin by the name of September Girls. They didn’t exactly wow me like the first band did, but they definitely had their moments. I think a large part of my problem was they like a lot of reverb and it made it hard to understand all of the vocals. Still enjoyed their set and of course grabbed some pictures.
Unfortunately after this I had to take a break to go to my real job, but I did manage to make it over to Bowery Electric to catch one of the bands I was most excited about seeing this year: Butcher Knives. They have one of the best live shows of any band I’ve seen. The amount of energy they put into each performance is incredible, as were the photos I managed to snap during their set. (hashtag: humble brag)
It was definitely a wild and crazy night, and a great start to this year’s CMJ. Hopefully you had as much fun as the crowd did at Bowery Electric, and you keep on rocking all week.
You know what they say, “Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day”…
Well, that’s bull-cookies, but that doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to have fun. Just don’t tell me that drinking Guinness and whiskey one day a year makes you Irish. I drink whiskey every day, so hush.
*ahem*
Sorry, back to the entertainment… With St. Pat’s just around the corner, there are plenty of fun things to do around the city. Here are a few on my list of potentials:
1) Tonight a friend of mine is DJing at what used to be my local bar – Project Parlor. If you don’t want to wait until the weekend to get your drunk on, this is the place to be. I’m sure there will be plenty of Irish punk songs to make your little Irish heart happy.
2) For all you Long Island kids, The Slackers are playing at 89 North in Patchogue. I know, they’re not Irish, but they’re fun. And since it’s the day before St. Pat’s they might do some covers fitting the occasion.
3) There are plenty of things happening on the actual day of celebration, even though it’s a Monday. There’s a cool show at Gramercy with the Shipwrecks, NonStop to Cairo, Beat Brigade, and Narkatta for one thing. If that’s not your scene and you just want a place to drink, Project Parlor will have specials all night for ya. Or try whatever your local bar is; I’m sure anywhere you go will be doing something for one of the biggest drinking days of the year.
4) For those of you who don’t want to be around a bunch of drunk strangers all night, try staying home with a bottle of whiskey, some friends, and The Boondock Saints. It’s one of my favorite movies ever, and definitely Irish enough for the day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d46hgS4CVi4
So there you have it, a handful of real fun ideas to enjoy St. Patrick’s Day with, Just remember to be respectful to those around you. Don’t be a drunk asshole; Don’t be a dick; and especially DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE. Get your ass on the drunk train with the rest of us and stay safe, kids.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Quick post to let you know about two really cool shows happening this weekend in the NYC area.
1) Lyzfest, otherwise known as my good friend over at Candy Apple Red’s birthday show. She always puts together a great night of music, but she goes all out for her big day. This year the night doubles as the kickoff to Tail Light Rebellion’s tour. They go on 1st at 8pm, right after the open bar that takes place 7-8. All this is happening at, (where else?), Trash Bar in Brooklyn. It’s a great way to start a great night for a great lady. Come on out and celebrate with us, folks.
2) The 2nd show I want to throw at you is for the often ignored Long Island kids. The Pandemics are opening for The Toasters over at 89 North. They’re calling it “The Ultimate Ska Party” and I have to agree that it looks like it might be. I’ve never been to the venue myself, but my boyfriend tells great stories of hanging out backstage with The Slackers last time he was there. I’m looking forward to seeing the place. Also looking forward to seeing The Toasters again since last time I saw them I started feeling sick halfway through their set. It would be nice to actually get to dance this time…
There you have it, two great shows to get you through the weekend. I know LI feels super far away and not worth it for most people, but there are some great shows you’re missing out on with that attitude. Take a chance and come dance with us, won’t you?
Valentine’s Day – the time we’re all supposed to show that special someone how much we love them… or so says Hallmark. Just because tradition tells you when to show these signs of affection though doesn’t mean they can tell you how to do it. That is why today I’m dedicating this post to sharing some non-traditional ways to spend your day. These can be for singles or couples, and shared with friends or lovers. The point is to have fun without doing the whole “dinner and a movie” thing that is your typical romantic evening. So, in no particular order, let’s get started…
I’m sure there are plenty of other fun things you could be doing this day without giving in to the hype and madness that tends to go along with it. Personally I’m going to work tonight, but spending tomorrow watching Warm Bodies, the romantic zombie movie, while devouring some discount chocolate I will likely pick up at 2am tonight when I finally stumble home from my job. What is everyone else doing? Send me your ideas and maybe they’ll be included in next year’s V-Day special here. Whatever you do today, don’t let the pressure (or annoyingly cute couples) get to you. Have fun and enjoy, today and every day.
I first discovered Fooling April when I was in college, through Myspace of all places. Yes, back when Myspace was still a thing I found this band from Philly and saw they conveniently had a show scheduled in NYC on my birthday. I sent them a message telling them how excited I was about my accidental birthday show, which was at The Bitter End before they started getting super strict about their 21+ status.
After the band finished their set, I jumped on stage to introduce myself. They were pleased to see me and said if they had realized I had made the show they would’ve sung me happy birthday! To a shy girl from NJ who wasn’t used to being in the Big City, this made me very happy.
Fast forward years later to the present, and Fooling April still have some spark left in them. This past Saturday they played Bowery Electric, and yours truly was there to take pictures. Hopefully you enjoy them, and hopefully I get another chance to see this band again in a few months rather than a few years.
New York local artist Shayfer James has released a 6-song album, “Red Room Vol 2,” which can be yours exclusively if you donate to his indiegogo campaign today. The album is filled with the hauntingly beautiful and piano driven music you would expect if you’ve heard James’ other works, including his last album, “Counterfeit Arcade,” which was released in 2011.
In his campaign, which is to fund his new album “Haunted Things,” he states that “Red Room Vol 2” was recorded in 8 hours, but that certainly doesn’t mean a lack of quality. Each song will leave some impression on you. If you’ve never heard of Shayfer James before, 1) I’m sorry; 2) you can hear samples of his work on his bandcamp page. After you’ve been wowed by the past, I hope you consider donating towards the future. I don’t have advanced knowledge, but I’m confident Haunted Things will live up to it’s name and haunt you in the best way possible.
For the first time since I started really exploring the music scene in New York, I will be attending something for every day of CMJ this week. Tonight’s entry was Kevin Devine and the Goddamn Band at Music Hall of Williamsburg. And oh what a show it was. If you thought Kevin Devine was just some weird dude with a guitar, well then you have never seen him play a full band show before. Whether he’s playing solo or with his band-mates though, you are guaranteed to get your money’s worth. Dude is extremely talented, but also really humble at the same time. A perfect example of this happened tonight, when Devine started talking about what CMJ means to him. He mentioned how he feels honored to still be asked to play the festival since his first appearance here. It was actually one of the only things he bothered to stop playing long enough to say. There wasn’t as much banter as there normally is with his shows, but that just meant the set was jam packed with lots more music for us to enjoy. The set list tonight was band’s choice, which meant we got to hear a lot of songs they don’t normally do live. There were still plenty of fan favorites though, including two of my favorite songs by them – “Just Stay” and “You’ll Only End Up Joining Them”. Overall I would say it was a great start to a week overflowing with too many musical choices to handle. I’m glad a made the decision to come out tonight to enjoy this amazing live act.
Set List:
Trouble
You’re My Incentive
Carnival
Another Bag of Bones
You’ll Only End Up Joining Them
Shift Change
Big Bad Men
Fever Moon
Murphy’s Song
Noose Dressed Like a Necklace
Hand of God
Just Stay
Burning City
Yr Husband
I Could Be With Anyone
Cotton Crush
Ballgame
She Stayed As Steam
Encore:
You Are The Daybreak
Whistling Dixie
Brother’s Blood
Arcade Fire’s new album, “The Suburbs” is an experience that is powerful both musically and lyrically. The songs are upbeat and energetic at times, mellow and thoughtful at others. “Half Life” has pounding music that feels ready to burst any minute. It resolves to “Half Life II”, which starts slow and builds back up again.
Another word to describe the album is “eclectic”. “Suburban War” has war-like drum beats followed by the next track “Month of May” which is more of a dance number. The whole album goes through waves with different levels and emotional tones to them. With such a variety of flavors to experience, I’m sure you will find a song for you.
Arcade Fire are currently on tour, and will be in NYC August 4th & 5th. The Aug 4th date is sold out, but tickets are still available for Aug 5th, according to Bowery’s website.Full list of dates can be found on the Arcade Fire MySpace. If you can’t make it to any of the shows, fear not! The Madison Square Garden show will be broadcast on the Internets (see Bowery site for details). The event will be an historic one, so you’re not going to want to miss out.